As the season winds down, it's time to get the "player evaluation" part of the year started.

As a Flames fan, most of my life I've been looking forward to "next year"-the year where things get back on track after a disappointing season. Well, this next year may be the most positive next year I've ever seen, and a big reason for that is the prospect pool the Flames currently have.

The evaluators were asked to rank players, and we sorted the rankings via a simple point scale-number 15 on each list got one point, while number 1 on each list got 15. The criteria for who was included was pretty simple: players the Flames control who are 23 and under (excluding Mikael Backlund, since he's already a bona fide NHLer).

Now that all that boring stuff is out of the way, let's get down to the nitty gritty and start with number 15:

As we speak, Wotherspoon's finishing up an excellent season (both for him and his team) in Portland. Wotherspoon was drafted with the #57 pick (2nd round) last year, the second of the two 2nd rounders that was returned (along with Roman Horak) in the Tim Erixon deal. Wotherspoon increased his point totals substantially this year, going from 12P (2G, 10A) in 64GP in his draft year to 27P (7G, 21A) in 67GP this year.

Personally, I think there were a bit too many (read: > 0) comparisons to Robyn Regehr when Wotherspoon was drafted. While that's understandable for a couple of reasons - Regehr was in the news due to his trade and Wotherspoon's projection is probably one of a shutdown defenseman - I doubt he'll play anywhere near the role Regehr did. That said, I do think it's probable that Wotherspoon becomes a serviceable NHLer in due time. But, as everyone knows, the developmental cycles of shutdown defensemen are arduous and varied. Some guys take that step, some don't.

One thing I like more about Wotherspoon then I do, say, Chris Breen (other then the obvious age/potential development time thing) is that the kid has a bit more mobility then is usual with players his age/skill type. I'll admit what I've seen of him is limited, but to me he looks like he could develop enough speed and agility to be a bottom-pairing guy. That, along with his plus-size (already 6'2, 203) will allow him to adjust to the AHL level quicker then many other defensive prospects the Flames have had over the years.

The List

Justin is a 23-year-old Flames fan who also happens to be pursuing a double major at the University of Calgary. He has played hockey at high levels, enjoys wearing shorts and tends to drink far too much Grasshopper. Please don't hate him.

yeah, I don't know that I'd put them much higher than 25th, but Baertschi certainly provides some boost to the franchise over a few others in that area (Sharks, Canucks, Montreal) but only in that the Flames have one forward prospect better than the other teams while the other teams have more prospects of reasonable value.

The question for the prospect depth for the summer, after the draft, should be "after promoting Baertschi to the NHL, is there anybody else?"

Gaudreau, Reinhart, and Ferland all look interesting, but there is a very long distance between players who can excel at the junior or college ranks and those who can perform at the NHL.

The guys like Reinhart and Ferland are good bets to be NHL players. It's certainly up in the air as to whether their offensive abilities will translate beyond the bottom six, though. Gaudreau, if he manages to handle the physical rigors of the NHL (and college is better preparation for that than junior, I should imagine) should be very impressive. Perhaps not immediately, but I have high hopes for him.

Like Justin, I like Wotherspoon more than Breen. I haven't seen him much in-person (he was out with a shoulder injury during the entire summer) but his offensive numbers are fairly strong for a WHL shut-down defender. He's blessed with being on a really strong Portland team, though, so it's difficult to tell precisely how good he is. That said, the team is very offensively-oriented and Wotherspoon's defensive numbers are good.

This is a pretty cool idea, and one I think that Flames fans deserve after watching the Flames this year. So..... Wotherspoon. I don't know a ton about this guy, but he seems like he could develop into a NHL defenceman. Does he play like Joey Leach or Rob Ramage at all?

Im pretty jazzed about Gaudreau. The fact that Chris Krieder, the Rangers #1 prospect, only has 2 more points than Gaudreau, is amazing. And when you consider that Gaudreau is a freshman, 2+ years younger, 6 inches and 50 pounds smaller AND a 4th round pick opposed to Krieder - a 1st rounder - it becomes even more amazing to me. Can't wait to see him in the Frozen Four.

yeah, I don't know that I'd put them much higher than 25th, but Baertschi certainly provides some boost to the franchise over a few others in that area (Sharks, Canucks, Montreal) but only in that the Flames have one forward prospect better than the other teams while the other teams have more prospects of reasonable value.

The question for the prospect depth for the summer, after the draft, should be "after promoting Baertschi to the NHL, is there anybody else?"

Gaudreau, Reinhart, and Ferland all look interesting, but there is a very long distance between players who can excel at the junior or college ranks and those who can perform at the NHL.

Saw Wotherspoon a couple weeks ago in Kamloops. Bigger, Mobile calm defencman with a good head on his shoulders. Maybe looks like a 5/6 pairing four years from now. Time will tell.

I always shake my head with what the flames have done with young defencemen and drafts over the last few years. With the Phaneuf trade they lost 2 young NHL level defencemen and did not get young D back. The Jokinen trade lost their first round which would have been Brandon Gormley and if they kept Erixon we would not have to talk about Wotherspoon right now. So their D prospects could have looked like this.

Why waste a second round pick on a player that you project so little of. Defenseman like Wotherspoon are available later in the draft. When you are picking in the second round you need to be looking for players that you project to be impact difference makers.

I was shocked that Michael St Croix did not get drafted until the fourth round, but he is the player that I was hoping to get in the second round after Granlund. St Croix had 45 goals and 105 points this year in the WHL. Even Adam Lowry would have been a better pick than Wotherspoon.

It was a hard pick to understand. When you look at Baertschi, Granlund, Gaudreau, and then Wotherspoon it is really one of those Sesame Street games of "one of these things is not like the others, one of these things does not belong".

I never ranked Wotherspoon in the top 15 because at this point I'm not even sure he'll ever make the jump to the NHL. Next year will be a little more telling for Wotherspoon as they're (Portland) unlikely to be as much of an offensive power-house, which may have inflated his offensive numbers a bit this season.